Fireproof partition.



' Patented July 4, I899. 0. W. NORCBUSS.

FIBEPRHOF PARTITION.

' (Application filed Kay 11', 1898.)

v I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORLANDO \V. NOROROSS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIREPROOF PARTITION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 628,252, dated July 4, 1899.

Application filed May 11, 1898. Serial No. 680,353- (No model.)

T0 on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,- ORLANDO W. NoRoRoss,

of the city and countyof Worcester, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fireproof- Partitions; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descripinvention applied thereto, the plaster being shown removed from a portion of the surface i thereof to more fully illustrate my improvei ments. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the partition before the plaster is applied, showing portions thereof broken away for convenience in illustration; and Fig. 3

represents upon the same enlarged scale as Fig. 2 a horizontal section on line m, Fig. 1, through a portion of the partition.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement in the construction of wood partitions for buildings whereby the same may be rendered practically fireproof and of proper strength at a comparatively small cost in the construction of the building; and it consists of flat strips of wood preferably about an inch thick arranged vertically and placed flatwis e about half an inch apart and having thin transverse wood blocks or separators between them at several points in the height of the partition to form narrow spaces between said vertical strips for the plaster to enter and form clenches for holding it to the partition,

said separating-blocks being ofless widththan the width of the vertical strips or studdingito assist inkeying the plaster thereto. It also consists of .means for fastening said vertical strips and separators together; also,

of a wire covering placed upon and fastened over the wood partition thus formed and plaster spread over said wire lathing, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

To enable others to better understand the nature and purpose of said invention, I will now proceed to describe it more in detail.

In the drawings, A represents the main strips or boards, B the thin separatingblocks, D the wire lathing, and E the plastering, of the partition. Said main strips or boards A are preferably about an inch thick, (although they may be thicker,) as wide as the partition is thick, and are arranged vertically and transversely in said partition. They are placed, as previously stated, about half an inch apart toform spaces for the plaster to enterbetween them to form clenches back of the wire lathing. In said spaces are placed the thin transverse blocks or separators B, which are about an inch wide'and preferably a little shorter in length than the thickness of the partition, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to permit the plaster to pass through and back of the lathing where said separators come. In practice about four lines of said separators are used, one each at the top and bottom and two between; but I do not limit myself to this number.

The'wire lathing I) is tacked to the ends of the flat strips or boards A over the surface of the partition,vas is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, this being done after said partition has been secured in position.

In building the partition it may be put up .fioor piece by piece and then placed bodily in position where required. By either method it is preferable to fasten metal strips G G to the floor and ceiling where the partition is to be built, provided with shoulders or ribs G to fit one edge of the top and bottom of said partition against, and also,made alittle wider than the partition is thick, so that the opposite edges from said shoulders or ribs may be bent against the other edges of said partition and fastened after it has been built or placed in position to secure the same in said position, as is shown in Fig. 2, although any other means of fastening the partition in place may be employed, if desired.

The advantages of my invention are that partitions may be made of any desired thickness, from one inch to six or eight inches or thicker, with material always available, as all that is necessary is to saw up the very coarsest kind of lumber into it, either hemlock, spruce, coarse pine, or anything conveniently at hand, and partitions thus made are very firm and rigid against lateral pressure, owing to the boards being arranged transversely therein, and said strength is largely augmented by the wire lathing secured to the surfaces thereof. The whole thickness of the partition being made solid, with the exception of the half-inch spaces between the boards A, and said spaces being cut olf at short intervals by the transverse blocks B, precludes the possibility of fire entering therein andworking up through from one floor to another, as is common with ordinary studded wood partitions having wide open spaces between the studs. Said construction also renders the same practically soundproof as well as fireproof between one room and another. Owing to the lateral stiffness of this construction, it is particularly well adapted for partitions required to be made fireproof, and the cheapness thereof permits of its use in ordinary building constructionas, for instance, in office and apartment buildings, dwellings, &c., in which wood partitions are used and where the cost of construction will not admit of the use of brick partitions. When used for outside walls of a building, the latter is rendered Warmer in winter and cooler in summer than as ordinarily made with studs, clapboarding, and shingles, wallpaper, and inner lathing and plaster, and the cost thereof is but little, if any, greater than by said old construction, as the usual outer papering and boarding may be dispensed with and the clapboards or shingles applied directly to the walls. The expense may also be lessened,if desired,by dispensing with lathin g altogether and plastering direct on the walls and partitions. While this method is not as desirable in practice, (owing to the plaster being less liable to adhere properly and also from its tendency to crack more readily, owing to shrinkage of the woodwork,) it may be adopted in the cheaper classes of building, where economy is an object, and I therefore reserve the right to use the wire lathing or not in connection with the other features of my invention.

Said invention is of especial advantage where it is desirable in buildings to make the partitions as light in Weight as possible on ac count of inadequate supports underneath and yet retain the fireproof qualities, such partitions, it is obvious, being much lighter than brickwork and nearly or quite as impervious to fire, except in a general conflagration.

Having now described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a series of fiat strips of wood arranged vertically and placed flatwise about half an inch apart; a series of thin, transverse, separating-blocks fitted between said strips at several points in the height of the partition to form narrow spaces for the plaster to enter and form clenches to hold said plaster to the partition,said separating-blocks being of less width than the width of the vertical strips or studding to assist in keying the plaster thereto means for fastening said strips and separators together, means for fastening the partition in place at the top and bottom, suitable lathing, applied to the surfaces of the wood partition thus formed, and plaster, in turn applied over said lathing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of a series of fiat strips of wood arranged vertically and placed fiat- Wise about half an inch apart; a series of thin, transverse, separating-blocks fitted between said strips at several points in the height of the partition to form narrow spaces for the plaster to enter and form clenches to hold said plaster to the partition; said separatingblocks being of less width than the width of the vertical strips or studding to assist in keying the plaster thereto means for fastening said strips and separators together, means for fastening the partition in place at the top and bottom and plaster applied over the surfaces of the wood partition thus formed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ORLANDO W.NOROROSS. Vitnesses:

A. A. BARKER, W. B. Noonsn. 

